View Full Version : Any word from Sonalysts???
Sea Demon
08-06-08, 02:01 PM
Neal (or any other who might know),
Has anybody heard any words at all from the people at Sonalysts? It seems as though they have totally disappeared. Completely. Even at their own website forum. I have asked questions directly there and the silence is deafening. As I've enjoyed every sim SCS has created, and was initially drawn to Subsim by playing their naval games, I was hoping that SCS might produce something more in the future. Any plans? Any news? Any contact with them at all?
Konovalov
08-07-08, 10:27 AM
I loved Sub Command. It would be a shame for the naval sim community if they never produce anything again. :cry:
Onkel Neal
08-09-08, 12:02 AM
No news, they are focusing on their military contracts. The PC segment has not been large enough to compel new game development.
GrayOwl
08-10-08, 01:25 PM
No news, they are focusing on their military contracts. The PC segment has not been large enough to compel new game development.
688HK/Jane -----> SubCommand ------> Dangerous Waters -------->:lost:
:cry: :cry::cry:
Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!
GrayOwl
08-12-08, 01:39 PM
Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!
Commons: SA For Games - Dead... This Is True.:know:
GrayOwl
08-13-08, 01:56 PM
Frying Tiger,a sonalyst employee still drops in from time to time though his recent posts all seem to be in the SH4 forum!!!
He has not made a post regarding sonalysts since last year!
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:
Sea Demon
08-18-08, 12:09 AM
Thanks Neal and all others who responded. This is rather depressing really. With this is mind, just who out there is going to develop modern naval sims for us to enjoy on the commercial market? I don't see anybody else filling this role. Do you?UBIsoft? EA in conjunction with some gaming studio? Can we talk to those who make some of these modern flight sims into looking at modern naval sims as a potential development line? Should we start a petition to Sonalysts themselves to reconsider?
Sorry to the WW2 subsimmers, but without modern naval simming, things could get pretty dry in the naval sims sector. I think a good mix of WW2 style subsims and modern naval stuff is what keeps naval simming so intriguing. I happen to play and enjoy both. I'm still playing and enjoying DW but we're about a little less than a half year away from 2009. Oh well..........................:(
Syxx_Killer
08-19-08, 06:09 PM
Thanks Neal and all others who responded. This is rather depressing really. With this is mind, just who out there is going to develop modern naval sims for us to enjoy on the commercial market? I don't see anybody else filling this role. Do you?UBIsoft? EA in conjunction with some gaming studio? Can we talk to those who make some of these modern flight sims into looking at modern naval sims as a potential development line? Should we start a petition to Sonalysts themselves to reconsider?
Sorry to the WW2 subsimmers, but without modern naval simming, things could get pretty dry in the naval sims sector. I think a good mix of WW2 style subsims and modern naval stuff is what keeps naval simming so intriguing. I happen to play and enjoy both. I'm still playing and enjoying DW but we're about a little less than a half year away from 2009. Oh well..........................:(
I know what you mean! Even though we have no modern conflicts to really model a dynamic campaign after, a realistic "what-if" scenario would be good (eg Red Storm Rising). I'm DYING for a truly dynamic campaign with a moden nuclear sub. I'd love to go hunting in my Los Angeles or an Akula class subs! I'd love to be tracking a possible sub contact only to get a message to proceed to a different area to wait for an enemy fleet or something! :arrgh!:
Neal (or any other who might know),
Has anybody heard any words at all from the people at Sonalysts? It seems as though they have totally disappeared. Completely. Even at their own website forum. I have asked questions directly there and the silence is deafening. As I've enjoyed every sim SCS has created, and was initially drawn to Subsim by playing their naval games, I was hoping that SCS might produce something more in the future. Any plans? Any news? Any contact with them at all?
I've recently got the info, that they still 'wait and see'. But I assume, as long as they get enough contracts from the navy/DoD they are not eager to return to the PC market. From the company's perspective I can fully understand this (benefit).
Probably it would work if the codeline between the commercial and the government version is nearly the same (only add ons etc. like in Harpoon and Steel Panthers).
And I do not think that other vendors will produce a naval sim in the foreseeable future. You just have to compare the number of threads between DW and Silent Hunter....
I think an open source naval/subsim is the only alternative...
I believe that any future sim will come from a gaming company.Only a hardcore of players will buy a sim because they like the sim engine and the realism.The majority of purchasers want eye candy and that means really good graphics.This DW did not have and by suppressing any mods of the visual models this will never be achieved.
The promised expansion packs and campaigns never appeared.I wonder if they were ever made or were they just some pipe dream at Sonalysts.for versatility I believe that SC will never be bettered,and that is because we made it what it is!
Takeda Shingen
08-22-08, 04:18 PM
Well, that is just it: Hardcore simulation is a niche market. To echo what Neal has said, Sonalysts is a company, and like any company, it exists to serve a bottom line. The government contracts were far more lucrative than the PC market, so Sonalysts moved to where the money is. I agree that it is a shame for us. Looks like I'll be taking extra special care of those DW disks so that the sim may serve me for many years to come.
Of course, if the interest was strong enough, and I mean really strong enough, the community could make it's own. If it could happen anywhere, it would be SubSim.
It would have been nice for Frying Tiger to have actually have posted a comment about this as he is a Sonalyst employee.I am trying to remember who the forum member was that used to post a lot on here but then left Sonalysts about the time DW appeared.Does he still visit?
Well if this abandoning the PC gaming market would at least open the doors from the modding community with Sonalyst's agreement, that would be great. I wish they could have some talented guys sign an NDA and hand them the code over to improve the game and let people add controllable platforms.
Or at least, give officially permission to add new playable units :hmm:
The game is nowadays old enough (Visually speaking) to make it be no competition for any future product they could develop. Just look at SH2 now....would someone say that ANY mod of it could detract sales from SH3/4 or a future SH5? Obviously not.....
Well if this abandoning the PC gaming market would at least open the doors from the modding community with Sonalyst's agreement, that would be great. I wish they could have some talented guys sign an NDA and hand them the code over to improve the game and let people add controllable platforms.
Or at least, give officially permission to add new playable units :hmm:
The game is nowadays old enough (Visually speaking) to make it be no competition for any future product they could develop. Just look at SH2 now....would someone say that ANY mod of it could detract sales from SH3/4 or a future SH5? Obviously not.....
You have to keep in mind that they use the core (naval sim engine) in their government projects also (at least to my knowlege)...so they cannot release the source code etc.
I sent Frying Tiger pm about the expansion packs that were advertised when DW was released.He has so far failed to reply!
You have to keep in mind that they use the core (naval sim engine) in their government projects also (at least to my knowlege)...so they cannot release the source code etc.
Hmmm you are right. But at least, if only they gave permissions to make more modification adn add playable units, I'm sure we would see a flow of new players to this beautiful game.
Imagine just making one step back in time with all units:
FFG Perry--->Knox
Kilo--->Tango
Akula--->Victor III
688i---->Sturgeon
Cold War mod, anyone? :D
Blacklight
09-01-08, 05:35 PM
What would be really nice is if they do what the makers of Harpoon did. Release two versions of the same sim, one for military contract use and another "toned down" version for the public. This gives them two sources of income from the pretty much the same sim code.
goldorak
09-02-08, 05:49 AM
I think that modern naval simulations are just too niche to be of any use to commercial publishers anymore. The way to go is open source. Get a bunch of people that love naval simulations, modern tactics and design a game with an ultra realistic simulation engine.
Its not impossibile, just look at Orbiter as a case study. It is leaps and bounds above the only commercial space simulater ever (Microsoft Space Simulator). The simulation doesn't even have to be open source, just have a well designed open api that will enable to mod new vessels, and new interfaces etc... to the engine. Again look at Orbiter to see just how it works. And that program was made by one man. So all hope is not lost for naval enthusiasts. Have a look at ComSubSim. :D
Blacklight
09-02-08, 02:06 PM
Yeah. Orbiter has stolen away years of my life !
I can't wait to see what happens with the Community Subsim. I've been keeping tabs on it. It looks VERY promising. :up:
Sea Demon
09-08-08, 03:59 PM
Yeah. Orbiter has stolen away years of my life !
I can't wait to see what happens with the Community Subsim. I've been keeping tabs on it. It looks VERY promising. :up:
ComSubSim does look interesting. I hope that works out for the people building it. I'm watching those developments with great interest. I do know that there are definitely very smart people on that project. I wish them luck. :up:
But I still crave a commercial release. A project from a gaming company (mainly Sonalysts) that can do the job for financial compensation and are accountable to their customer base regarding release dates, patches, and technical questions. I like the fact that a gaming company that develops a naval sim has a financial incentive to get the sim in your hands.
GrayOwl
09-08-08, 05:41 PM
There is a really extended version of game (DWX expansion - as OPFOR a package for standart DW - "Reinforce Alert" Add-on).
DW Still will live a little... JJJ
Can we put Frying tiger in the brig for not having the courtesy to answer his pm's?
Onkel Neal
10-03-08, 10:35 PM
I can say this: I have a special piece from Sonalysts coming out in the 2009 Submarine Almanac, that will answer some questions :smug:
PeriscopeDepth
10-05-08, 07:26 PM
I can say this: I have a special piece from Sonalysts coming out in the 2009 Submarine Almanac, that will answer some questions :smug:
Nice Neal. What would we do without the SubSim ambassador. :yep:
PD
Sea Demon
10-21-08, 04:05 PM
I can say this: I have a special piece from Sonalysts coming out in the 2009 Submarine Almanac, that will answer some questions :smug:
Well, you just got a sale here. Quite the businessman you are. :yep: :up:
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